Liquid Encouragement
by thousand-miles
Summary: After Lizzie walked away from Red their relationship is strained. Meera wants to know what happened and so the two women talk about Red and drink. Part 4 of Lunchbox.


Lunchbox part 4

Title: Liquid encouragement

 **Author:** thousand-miles

 **Rating:** K

 **Disclaimer:** just like playing with these characters

 **Summary:** After Lizzie walked away from Red their relationship is strained. Meera wants to know what happened and so the two women talk about Red and drink. Part 4 of Lunchbox.

 **A/N:** Well here is part four of what I guess has become Lunchbox series. After part three I wasn't sure if I should continue because I had no idea what to do. Then I got an idea and so part four was written. No Red and Lizzie interacting, which means no kissies *runs and hides* FrostyFingers, I hope you forgive me for that. But I think things are set up nicely for a part five. I hope you enjoy.Reviews are greatly appreciated.

 **Liquid Encouragement**

To say things were bad was understating it. Their professional relationship was strained and their personal one non-existent. He still gave them blacklisters, but the contact was mostly via Dembe. She hadn't truly realised the full extent of Raymond Reddington's grief when he'd gone and talked to Cooper telling him he no longer wanted her as his point of contact and that from now on he would communicate when necessary with Ressler. If she was lucky she might see him once or twice a week and if he was in a real good mood, he would even address her sometimes. That didn't happen often though. Luckily neither Ressler nor Cooper had questioned her about what was really going on. Instead in their eyes she saw compassion and sometimes even pity.

She'd tried to talk to him several times but every time he refused to see her. A few weeks ago she'd come to the point of giving up. There was no use in trying. From what Ressler had told her Red had been away on business the entire week.

Tonight though she wasn't going to sit at home and sulk. She was going to Meera and they were going to drink and she needed it. It would be the first time in weeks that they would truly have time to talk.

"So you and Red, huh." Meera started as soon as Lizzie sat down on the couch. She immediately handed her friend a glass of wine. The tequila she'd bought was for later.

"There's no me and Red." She grumbled.

"No kidding." That part was obvious to everyone at the post office. "Why is that exactly?"

Lizzie shrugged. "Don't know."

"Try again."

"It could have never worked."

"Really? And why is that?" It was a question she'd wanted to ask for weeks. The sudden change from hot to cold had been a big surprise for her especially since she knew how Lizzie felt.

Lizzie stayed quiet for a moment and drank some more of her wine.

"What the hell happened, Liz? You two go from practically being in each other's personal space all the time to not being able to be in the same room any longer. You don't even talk anymore." She was going to get to the bottom of this.

"I know." She sighed in defeat.

"For Reddington to choose Ressler over you… You must have really hurt him."

Lizzie looked up at her friend, her eyes wide. "Why do you assume I hurt him and not the other way round?"

"Because he would do whatever he could to not hurt you." Meera let her words sink in for a moment. "If it were the other way round you two would still be working together. He cut the ties, therefor you hurt him."

Lizzie nodded. What Meera said was true. "I got scared." She admitted. She pored herself some more wine.

"Scared how?"

"A while back Dembe called me and told me he was sorry. That he was too late. I thought Red had died and my world crumbled." She stared straight ahead. "It shattered."

Seeing that Lizzie was about to get lost in thought Meera steered her back to the conversation. "But he wasn't dead."

"No." She shook her head. "Dembe picked me up and brought me to his safe house. I didn't know the extent of his injuries and I didn't care. I was just so relieved he was alive. I crawled into bed with him and we slept together."

"You what?!" Meera exclaimed. That certainly explained a lot though it was a rather surprising turn of events.

"We actually slept, Meera." She glared at her friend until she saw an affirmative nod. "Then the following morning it just all got too much."

Both women were silent. Meera was waiting for Lizzie to continue and Lizzie thought she'd said enough.

"You can't leave it at that." Meera eventually said. "What got too much?"

"The idea of losing him. I can't bear to loose someone I love again. I just can't."

Meera stared at her. She knew Lizzie had a thing for the Concierge of Crime, but love was something entirely different. Something much bigger. "You love him?" She whispered.

Lizzie nodded. "Yeah. I wish I didn't though."

Meera frowned. She still didn't know what had let to the cold front they were currently dealing with. It could mean only mean one thing. Red had rejected her. "He rejected you?" She asked reluctantly, not wanting to cause her friend more pain.

"No, not really."

"What does that mean? What did he say?"

"It wasn't what he said. It was what I said." She looked at her friend. "I told him I could have lost him without ever having him."

"I still don't understand. He feels the same?"

Lizzie smiled. "Yeah. He told me I have him for as long as I want."

Meera's eyes got wide. That was quite a declaration and then it dawned on her. "You walked away." Seeing Lizzie's nod she continued. "And with that basically telling him you don't want him."

All she could do was nod again. She had driven him away. All because she was afraid to take a chance on love again. She honestly didn't know if she could get a second chance with him again.

Seeing Lizzie was about to get depressed Meera decided it was time to chance topic. "Enough serious talk. Let's drink." And she raised her glass.

Drinking is what they did. They laughed and joked. Lizzie teased Meera about Ressler and they joked about Cooper and Aram. The subject Red couldn't be avoided so at some point he would be talked about again. Later that evening their conversation had turned to movies and actors.

"Robert Downey Jr." Meera said.

"Ooooh." Lizzie agreed. "Attractive man. Love the Avengers. What about Mark Ruffalo?"

"Cute. I prefer Captain America."

Lizzie laughed out loud. "Of course you do."

"What does that mean?"

"It means he's your type."

Meera grinned. "I have no problem with that. He can come safe me any time."

"You're not exactly a damsel in distress."

"I can be for him." Meera held up her shot glass before emptying it.

"I wish Ultron wasn't a robot."

Meera's drink almost came out through her nose. "Excuse me?" she coughed.

"That voice. It's so hypnotic, so sexy." Lizzie turned all dreamy.

"You prefer Ultron over Robert Downey Jr.?"

"I prefer Red." Lizzie started slurring her words a bit. "He's so distinguished in his three piece suits."

Meera smiled at her friend's dreamy face.

"I bet he looks great in jeans too." Lizzie continued with one of Red's best traits. "I would like to see him in jeans." She looked at her friend. "Imagine that ass in jeans. He already looks so great in those suits but imagine that ass in jeans. I would just have to reach out and touch." She giggled.

"Bet not only that ass looks better in jeans." Meera suggested.

"Meera!" Lizzie threw a pillow at her and blushed. Then she started giggling again.

Meera laughed. "Admit it, you've thought about it for sure."

Lizzie blushed more heavily. She leaned forward as if she was about to share a secret. "I sometimes watch the video of him being strapped down on that chair in the box."

"What?" Meera practically screamed before she started laughing again.

Lizzie ducked her head ashamed of what she'd admitted. Meera saw that and didn't want her to feel bad. "I understand. He does seem to be packing in that shot."

This made Lizzie laugh again. "Imagine him strapped down again but then in his jeans. I'd jump his bones for sure."

Both women giggled at that. When they calmed down they took another shot. "I was sure that by now you'd have checked out his lunchbox."

"I wish."

"You didn't cop a feel while you were sleeping together?"

"Meera! He was injured!" Lizzie acted appalled by the suggestion.

"I bet not there. Should have copped a feel when you had the chance."

Lizzie nodded. "Yeah, guess I should. It's not as if I'm going to get a second chance." Her eyes began to water. "I miss him, Meera."

"I know you do." She hated to see the sadness threatening to take over. "You know what. You gotta fight for him."

"How? He refuses to see me."

Meera grabbed her phone and dialled. It was time to stop the misery. "Ressler. Get me Reddington's location, now." She demanded without explanation. She waited impatiently for Ressler to give her the location. They were in luck. Red was back in the city. Meera wrote down the address and thanked the agent. She handed Lizzie the piece of paper and pulled her up on her feet.

"Now you go there and you don't leave until you've figured this all out, okay?" She commanded.

"But…" Lizzie stumbled on her feet. Surely this wasn't the right time.

"Right. I'll call a cab." Meera grabbed her phone again and arranged a cab. Looking back at Lizzie she realised her friend needed some encouragement. "You walk into that home and tell that man that you love him and that you want him."

"What if he's with another woman?"

"Then you chase her away." She pointed at Lizzie. "He's your man and you are his woman. Now you go get your man!" She grabbed Lizzie's coat and purse, handed it to her, and pushed her friend out of the door. She watched her making her way on unsteady feet to the taxi. She nodded. Her work here was done. It was up to Lizzie now.

 **The End**


End file.
